James Burket: 2025 candidate for Glen Ellyn village president

Bio

Office Sought: Glen Ellyn village president

City: Glen Ellyn

Age: 63

Occupation: Commodity broker/branch office manager

Previous offices held: Former Glen Ellyn Village Trustee

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? Also, what makes you the best candidate for the position?

We are currently living through uncertain times, and I feel it is vital that we have local leadership that is understanding of the needs of every resident and business owner within our ZIP codes. Our residents are, after all, the village’s customers; these are our neighbors, and together we as a community make Glen Ellyn a home. Every resident deserves to feel included in the process, to be heard, and to be respected; we simply cannot let our political or cultural differences divide us.

In my 31 years as a resident of Glen Ellyn, I’ve volunteered in many ways both inside and out of our Civic Center. As a former village trustee, chairman of the Architectural Review Commission, and current board member of the Glen House Food Pantry, I understand the issues and the work that needs to be done to keep Glen Ellyn moving forward.

Being collaborative in nature, I have worked with many village departments and residents to bring forth successful programs in Glen Ellyn including the Tour of Lake Ellyn professional bike races.

As president, I look forward to helping all of Glen Ellyn understand that we truly are better when we work together.

What is the most serious issue your community will face in coming years and how should leaders respond to it?

Ask residents what they value most in Glen Ellyn and they’ll likely tell you safety. Glen Ellyn is facing two issues that need to be addressed soon to help ensure the long-term safety of the village.

The first is the mandated removal of lead water lines in as many as 1,400 homes and businesses. I can think of no more important initiative than achieving this sooner rather than later. While municipalities have until 2034 to remove these lines, we have only two years to come up with a plan to do so and how to pay for it.

Second is the replacement and likely relocation of our two aging fire stations. We are fortunate to have a strong volunteer fire company, and it has saved the village millions of dollars over the years in salary and pension obligations.

Spending large sums of money on engineering studies for a band aid approach to keep them operational rather than using those funds on new construction is throwing good money after bad. We must make tough decisions and prioritize what is important to us, to focus on needs versus wants. And residents should have a strong voice in that process.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

Glen Ellyn is in a strong position financially, but the current number of proposed capital projects is unsustainable; there are over $50 million in unfunded plans on the present list.

Funding sources are currently being threatened on both state and national levels, and the village needs to have a long-range plan to put itself in a solid position to react to these and potentially other unforeseen actions without simply going to a tax increase.

The train station replacement price has ballooned; the new station is 50% larger than the present building, and this is at a time when Metra ridership continues to be down 40% from pre-pandemic numbers. The station needs replacing, yes, but the significant reduction in ridership, which seems to be long-term, does not justify this size increase.

We need leadership to take on greater responsibility in setting strategic priorities and making decisions, and we need this to happen prior to lot of work being done. Staff is often given feedback after putting in substantial time on projects. By providing more clarity up-front, the board takes accountability for issues on which they were elected, and they make it easier for staff to succeed.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

Although there is a 10-year deadline to replace lead water pipes, I feel we should prioritize that project over others. The estimate for the village to eradicate these lines is north of $10 million.

The village feels the chances of Glen Ellyn securing any available federal grants are low requiring the village to take out a loan for the project. Until we get a better understanding of what we are in for, it behooves to delay or rescale some of low-priority projects on the unfunded/underfunded projects list much like any fiscally responsible family would do in trying times.

Rethinking the scope of the train station project, regardless of how deep we are into it, may be a good start. And reality is that the fire stations will likely remain in place as is until the bond used for the new police station is paid off in 2035.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think it will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board.

I am a collaborative leader that strives to get others involved: I take a listen first approach. I also realize that I am not always right in my thinking; nor do I need to be. We can always learn varied solutions to problems from others. That would be no different when working with Glen Ellyn’s board members.

I’ve learned through years of volunteering throughout the community and in staging events that Glen Ellyn is filled with people eager to be involved; whether it’s gathering for a spring cleanup or volunteering at charity bike races. This is an amazing asset for our village.

Since mid-November, I have sat down with dozens of residents and group representatives to discuss their collective experience in Glen Ellyn — what we’re doing right and what can be improved.

While each have their own set of priorities, most of the people I spoke to would like the village to be more responsive, to set clear priorities for the future and to be more of a partner when it comes to addressing their needs. Tough choices always need to be made in municipalities, and the board needs to be able to do that with real input from residents.

What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

The village needs to be open to new and innovative ways of thinking about big topics like economic development, community relations, environmental issues, leading a greener lifestyle, and the planning and development process.

There is a lot of good work happening in the community already. This is not about spending more money or reinventing the wheel. It is more about connecting and amplifying some of the great work that is already being done within the village.

I am often impressed by the commitment, creativity, intelligence, and talent here in Glen Ellyn, and believe that the village board and the staff can do a better job building on the good works being done here to ensure that there is a bigger impact in the village.

Rather than staff deciding the use for a certain parcel, then asking for resident input, allow the community to be part of the decision-making process and let them have a real say in what goes on in their own neighborhoods.

Our commissions are an incredible resource of talent, as well as future board members, and we can make better use of them and the residents who participate as commissioners.